red mass continues a legal tradition - vcba · 08-09-2011 · laura l. bartels jerry beckerman and...

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Santa Clara VallEy lEgal aId StartS 16tH yEar 5

IMPrOVIng OUr FUtUrE WItH “POSSIBlE SElVES.” 7

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RED MASS CONTINUES A LEGAL TRADITION By Glenn J. Dickinson

4

2 CITATIONS • SEPTEMBER 2011

A proud member of the Ventura County Bar Association

SEPTEMBER 2011 • CITATIONS 3

On Jan. 3, California added its 28th Chief Justice of California when Tani Gorr Cantil-Sakauye assumed office. Her appointment caused me to review some of our higher court’s history, including C.J. number 1. That honor goes to Serranus Clinton Hastings, our first Chief Justice of California Supreme Court. Both justices have interesting backgrounds.

Serranus Clinton Hastings (or S.C. to his friends and Trojan fans) accomplished about every legal honor imaginable. Any one of his achievements would have been a lifetime accomplishment for most people. Born in 1814 in Jefferson County, New York, Hastings became first a teacher and then read and studied law. Like many of the time, he kept moving west. While living in Indiana, he was the editor of the Indiana Signal, which Rupert Murdoch abruptly closed down after a telegraphing tapping scandal.

In 1837, Hastings moved to the wilds of present day Iowa and settled in the Mississippi River cities of Burlington and Muscatine. There, he practiced law and was appointed justice of the peace. When Iowa obtained statehood in 1846, Hastings was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He defeated Whig candidate G.C.R. Mitchell. Whigs and three-initial names were going out of style at that time, so the election was a sure thing. While in Congress, Hastings served with the likes of John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas and Andrew Johnson, none of whom really did much, as I recall.

Soon after Iowa organized its Supreme Court, in 1848, Hastings became its third Chief Justice. But, as they say, “it’s hard to keep a Chief Justice down on the farm,” so after about a year Hastings headed west to the coast. He settled in Benicia, which served as the California state capital at one time. Hastings must have made a good impression and had a good Facebook page because in 1849 he was almost immediately

selected to be the first Chief Justice of California. Hastings then ran for and was elected Attorney General of California. He defeated Whig candidate William Fair (the second Whig to go down in defeat to

Hastings, due in large part to the lack of a Whig political action committee at the time). Hastings served as Attorney General from 1852 to 1854.

S.C. then continued to practice law and earn some serious money. With a succession of endeavors in law, banking and real estate, Hastings’ wealth skyrocketed. By 1862, he was worth $900,000. He had seven children, traveled to Europe and kicked around a recent foolish land purchase called Alaska with some guy named William Seward.

After all these honors, it is interesting that Hastings’ most long lasting legacy came from his gift of $100,000 to the University of California Law Department in 1878. As any good old grad like Tom Hinkle, Ron Harrington, Bill Fairfield, Mike Case, Bill Hair, Bob Gallaway, Joel Mark or Bart Bleuel could tell you, Hastings College of Law now bears the first C.J.'s name. These relative value comparisons have a lot of variables, but Hastings’ $100,000 gift in 1878 is worth about $24 million today, using nominal GDP per capita, or $173 million today using relative share of GDP (I have no idea what those terms mean but I hear them mentioned often when my 401K drops in value).

Tani Cantil-Sakauye took a slightly different path to the Supreme Court. Born in Sacramento in 1959, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye was raised in Sacramento and attended Sacramento City College and later U.C. Davis, graduating in 1980. (I’m familiar with U.C. Davis since I’ve committed to pay them tens of thousands of dollars over the next four years for my oldest daughter.) Cantil-Sakauye then graduated from U.C. Davis School of Law in 1984. Like some law grads today, she was unable to find a job out of law school. So to obtain skills that would come in handy in legal battles, she became a blackjack dealer in Reno, Nevada.

Poker-faced lawyers would have no chance in her courtroom. She was actually turned down

by the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office because she was “too young.” Rather than waiting around to get “older,” Cantil-Sakauye became a Deputy District Attorney in Sacramento County. She then became a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary to Governor George Deukmejian in 1988 and later Deputy Legislative Secretary.

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye was appointed to the Sacramento Municipal court by Governor Deukmejian in 1990 and the Sacramento Superior Court by Governor Wilson in 1997. In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed her as an Associate Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal.

On Aug. 25, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger nominated Cantil-Sakauye to succeed retiring Chief Justice Ronald George. The Commission on Judicial Evaluation rated Cantil-Sakauye as “exceptionally well qualified,” a “brilliant mind” with “exceptional objectivity” and an “extraordinarily hard worker.” I can’t get any of my partners to say even one of these things about me, although one mentioned that I was a “pain to work with.”

In the November 2010 general elections California voters retained Cantil-Sakauye to a 12-year-term. The election was notable in that no Whig candidate opposed her.

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has been very active in the public appearance arena, having already visited numerous bar associations. Everyone who has met her seems to be very impressed. She will need all of her skills to maneuver through the wave of court budget slashing now coming our way like a tsunami.

VCBA President-Elect Dien Le is hoping to have Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye as our guest speaker at the 2012 annual bar dinner. We will see if the scheduling works out next year. Meantime keep practicing the pronunciation of her name (which I think would be made much easier with the use of more initials).

Joseph L. Strohman, Jr. (J.L.S.) left Iowa for California in 1979 to attend law school, never got elected to anything except this bar association and continues to practice business and real property litigation at Ferguson Case Orr Paterson, LLP.

CHIEFS 1 & 28By Joseph L. Strohman, Jr.


OFFICERS

PresidentJoseph L. Strohman

President-ElectDien Le

Secretary-TreasurerJoel Mark

Past PresidentKendall VanConas

Executive Director, CEOSteve Henderson, CAE

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Maria’s lashes are wet and smeared, her face puffy and red. Two small children bundled from the cold stand under her protective stance. Like little birds they look up expectantly. Social justice advocate volunteer Cynthia King hands the children a brand new package of colorful markers and some large white paper while Ventura County Juvenile Probation Agency Program Supervisor Kim Shean shepherds Maria to a corner of the now full room. Maria’s husband was crushed to death four days earlier when his pick up truck stalled on the train tracks on a deserted patch of farmland near highway 118. Maria’s grief exacerbates the confusion of death certificates and claim forms. She and her two small children are alone now with no income and no place to live and, as she is not “the farmworker,” her landlords are saying she can no longer live in her house. Benjamin and Anna arrive once a month with a tattered Vons bag teeming with mail. Both in their 70s, they are recognized by the staff at Fillmore’s Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid. Debora Vierra, who founded the organization in 1996, hugs them warmly. Benjamin and Anna can’t read. Debbie rescues the bills that need to be paid from the stack of junk mail. Benjamin and Anna were two of the victims of a $25 million mortgage fraud ring in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Luis Obisbo counties. They were left with a forged second deed of trust on their home and a bank unwilling to work with the couple. Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid joined forces with the United States Secret Service to assist the pair. The collaboration ended with a prosecution, a conviction and restitution to the Fillmore couple.

“Before this case, I always thought the Secret Service was brooding guys in suits talking into their lapel microphones guarding the President,” says Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid Director Laura Bartels, who is also an attorney in Fillmore. “Now I know that their main function is bank fraud and that their unit was formed in 1865 to combat counterfeiters.”

When the North Fillmore Police Storefront moved broken washing machines out and converted the single story cinderbrick rectangle into a community center in 1995, neighbors embraced the new community emblem of success. Now the storefront provides a place for HeadStart, ESL classes, parenting classes, and the Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid. Unique among legal aid programs, Santa

SANTA ClARA VAllEy lEgAl AId STARTS 16TH yEARBy Laura Bartels

Clara Valley Legal Aid has no regular funding. Donations fund one paid translator. Most of the contributions come from grateful clients. The City of Fillmore allows use of its building rent free. All nine of the organization’s volunteer attorneys give their time and talents and come every Thursday evening at 6 P.M. Five have received the prestigious California State Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award – statewide recognition for their outstanding commitments to the community. These awards were presented personally by the Honorable. Ronald M. George, former Chief Justice of California. Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid’s volunteers have received the Presidential Golden Rule Award, the Fillmore Citizens of the Year, Young Lawyer Awards and the Ventura County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Service Program Awards. All of Legal Aid’s attorneys are trained to add an educational component when they meet with clients. Not only do they teach about our justice system, but they actively involve the clients in their own cases to give them an “ownership” of outcome. This educational component also helps for future possible legal

issues. Some examples include keeping copies of all agreements, obtaining receipts when paying in cash, learning how to keep a record of a clean home to be reimbursed for a rental security deposit, pictures of bruising for victims of domestic violence, and saving paycheck stubs as proof of employment. “The entire community benefits whenever an illegal eviction is stopped and a family is able to avoid homelessness, when a disabled person qualifies for social disability benefits, whenever a parent receives unpaid child support and can stay off the public welfare rolls,” Vierra says. All of these outcomes result in critical help to the client and in direct government savings. Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid recently began its 16th year. Thank you to volunteers Debora Vierra, DarAnn Dearing, Robert Guerra, Harvey Guthrie , Kim Shean, Leslie McAdam, David Shea and Cindy Pandolfi for enhancing our Ventura County communities with your work.

Laura Bartels is a partner at Taylor, Scoles & Bartels, a Fillmore-based law firm.


BAR LEADERSHIPADR SECTIONMichael Wolfram 491-2770ANNUAL DINNEREric reed 648-3228ASIAN BARJohn Fukasawa 383-2788BANKRUPTCY Michael Sment 654-0311BARRISTERSChristina Stokholm 987-4975BENCH/BAR/MEDIA COMMITTEEJudge glen reiser 654-2961BENCH-BAR RELATIONS COMMITTEEMatt guasco 256-4972BLACK ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATIONAlvan Arzu 654-2500BUSINESS LITIGATION SECTIONErik Feingold 644-7188CITATIONSWendy Lascher 648-3228CLIENT RELATIONSdean hazard 981-8555COURT TOUR PROGRAMThomas hinkle 656-4223 CPA LAW SOCIETYdouglas kulper 659-6800EAST COUNTY BARBret Anderson 659-6800FAMILY LAW BARdouglas goldwater 659-6800INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYChris Balzan 658-1945J.H.B. INN OF COURTdavid Lehr 477-0070JUDICIAL EVALUATION COMMITTEELinda Ash 654-2580LAW LIBRARY COMMITTEEEileen Walker 444-6308MEXICAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATIONrebeca Mendoza 641-0253PRO BONO ADVISORY BOARDdavid Shain 659-6800PROBATE & ESTATE PlANNINg SECTIONCheri kurman 654-0911REAL PROPERTYramon guizar 988-8365SILENT AUCTIONdonald hurley 654-2585VCBA/VLSP, INC.Joseph Strohman 659-6800VLSP, INC. EMERITUS ATTORNEYSVerna kagan 650-7599VC TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION William grewe 642-7101VC WOMEN LAWYERSJill Friedman 644-7188VCBA STAFF 650-7599Steve henderson - Executive directorAlice duran - Associate Executive director Celene Valenzuela - Administrative Assistant Alejandra Varela - Client relations ManagerVerna kagan, Esq. - VLSp program Managerpeggy purnell - CTp CoordinatorJudith Logan - development director

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Every nine seconds a student drops out of school in America, a 2006 Ohio State University study found. This rapid dropout rate costs society tremendously.

Each dropout “cost[s] society up to $388,000, [and] a career criminal [costs] up to $1.5 million,” a 2003 Rand Corp. study found. A year later, the University of California, Berkeley found that “if high school graduation rates were just 1 percent higher, there would be 100,000 fewer crimes in the United States annually, including 400 murders, and the savings would be $1.4 billion.”

Is there anything that we can do to reverse this trend?

One breakthrough in understanding how individuals identify success that may be crucial to upping graduation rates came in 1986, when University of Michigan researchers Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius released their “Possible Selves” study.

Possible Selves showed that an individual’s glimpse at a possible self that he or she wants can be a game changer.

“Possible selves are important… because they function as incentives for future behavior...,” the authors said. “An individual is free to create any variety of possible selves, yet the pool of possible selves derives from the categories made salient by the individual’s particular sociocultural and historical context and from the models, images, and symbols provided by the media and by the individual’s immediate social experiences.”

Nearly 20 years later, in 2003, a nonprofit was founded to increase students’ exposures to“Possible Selves,” to possible career options. In the context of students in high school, when they are exposed to a possible self that they want, attaining that self, that career, that goal is the “incentive” they need to change their “behavior.” As a result, the students become willing learners, see the relevance of school, work harder, gain new hope, and graduate high school. To completly attain their goals, many proceed to earn a technical certificate, or an AA, BA, or advanced college degree.

A local nonprofit, Segue Career Mentors, is bringing “possible selves” to students in Ventura County through local career mentor speakers and multiple exposures to live models of career options throughout the school year. In the last eight years, Segue has helped produce more than 35,000 student career exposures in local students’ classrooms.

Segue is the only program of its kind in the nation, according to research from Pepperdine University. While some schools have career day and job shadowing programs, or teachers who take their own initiative to invite in speakers, Segue is the only nonprofit providing a systematic way to embed this process into our schools.

The efficacy of career option exposure has academic validation. Harvard University’s recently published “Pathways to Prosperity” study explored why U.S. educational attainment has plummeted. The country was once in first place globally, but now finds itself in eighteenth place.

Of three recommendations from the Pathways study, one topped the Harvard researchers’ list: Greatly increase students’ exposure to quality career options.

Inviting career speakers into the classroom is not new. As Ventura Community Colleges Chancellor James Meznek wrote in a letter to Segue: “… career speakers to the classroom has been a wonderful means for motivating students as far back as I can remember – the challenge has always been in the logistics and the time it takes… Segue provides the often-missing link to the workforce that students desperately need... implement [Segue] as quickly and broadly as possible.”

Education leaders know that Segue is a successful formula.

“I continue to receive positive feedback from administrators and others that have participated in this inspiring and motivating program...We…know that inspired and motivated students achieve more academically, work harder..., drop out [less], attend school more regularly, and are less likely to join gangs or exhibit violent

behavior,” Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Stan Mantooth said in a letter to Segue.

Segue is effective because it leverages available adult time so that a speaker need only commit to an hour and a half, one-time appearance in a local school classroom. Speakers self-schedule a time online that fits their calendars. Volunteers from all careers are invited to be a model for a possible self, and to share their wisdom and lessons learned from the road of life.

Examples of Segue’s measured outcomes based on university surveys demonstrate Segue’s efficacy. Eighty-six percent of participant students indicate that they now believe that more effort now equals more options in their future, a California Lutheran University survey found. Sixty-nine percent are working harder in school; and among those thinking about dropping out, 94 percent report that, due to Segue, they are now more likely to stay in school and graduate. In an independent study, Harvard researchers have corroborated key Segue findings.

District Attorney Greg Totten, Superior Court Judge Colleen Toy White and many others have joined in a brief video to encourage community members to participate in Segue. The video can be viewed at: www.SegueProgram.org/SegueVideo.html.

StudentS’ Comment:

“[Segue] really motivated me because I had been a little rocky and now I got going. It helped me start planning earlier for my future. I didn’t have a particular idea and now I’m a dental assistant. After this [hearing speakers], I got into ROP. Now I’ve got a career and I don’t have to worry about it. I saw how I needed my high school diploma. I can make good money now because I wasn’t lazy; kept going to get more education. The dentist I’m working for is paying so I can become a dental hygienist. Thought I’d get a little job one day; now have higher expectations that you can do more in your life.”

IMPROVING OUR FUTURE WITH “POSSIBLE SELVES.”By Jerry Beckerman and Tony Strauss

Continued on page 16


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I recently had an experience in my legal practice that involved fraud. I did not suffer any loss, but wanted to warn other attorneys in our county of a situation to be aware of.

I was recently contacted by a real estate broker from a well known franchise that has referred me business in the past. She said she had a client of Japanese descent who was doing business out of Canada and that they were buying foreclosure property in California. The client wanted to work with an attorney to review the transactions, as well as a place to deposit funds in the attorney trust account to have U.S. funds available on a more expedient basis in order to close escrows.

I initially was not real suspicious of the situation since it was a referral from a known source. However, I felt uncomfortable with the idea of the client wanting to put the proceeds of the sales transaction in my trust account. I thereafter communicated with the client by email only, received a signed retainer agreement and received an initial deposit of a cashier’s check drawn on a Canadian bank for U.S. dollars in the amount of $350,000. The check was written to my attorney trust account. Based on a gut discomfort I opened a whole new trust account specifically for the benefit of this client and deposited the check.

I have a real good relationship with my bank (which would give me immediate use of the funds), however based on my gut feeling I asked them not to authorize the funds until they processed the check and they could guarantee to me that the funds were good. Since the check was drawn on a Canadian bank, it entered into their internal process called “Collections,” wherein they processed the check and told me the funds would probably not be available for three to four weeks.

I contacted my client and let them know the funds would be available in three to four weeks. About a week later, my client contacted me again by email and said that the check had cleared at their end and they were scheduled to close escrow in a few days and wanted me to push the bank at

authorizing the funds. I contacted my bank to inquire and again told them that I did not want authorization for use of those funds until they were sure they were good. My gut turned out to be right. The check was fraudulent. The banking authority said it was a “very good” fraudulent check that almost worked.

At the beginning, when I first received the fee agreement from the client, I also checked on the internet. The person was a legitimate person. The funds that the trust were drawn upon were legitimate. The company was legitimate. However, the check given to me was forged. I contacted the client and asked for an explanation and of course I have never heard from them since. I notified the realtor and she notified the escrow for the three properties with the same client.

After finding out that it was a fraudulent check, I did an internet search and found that there were a couple of attorneys

A BULLET I DODGEDBy David E. Edsall

in the Midwest whose banks (because of their relationship) gave them instant authorizations of good funds. They funded different items on behalf of the client later to find out that they bounced checks from their trust account.

I share this experience just to warn attorneys in our county not to be tricked by this scheme. I was lucky my gut was at work and made me proceed cautiously, so I suffered no damages except for the loss of some time.

David E. Edsall is a partner at Camarillo-based Edsall | Arrieta. His primary practice areas include estate planning such a s probate and preparation of wills and trusts, business matters and civil litigation.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The encouraging response from local attorneys to our call to coach high school teams in the Ventura County Mock Trial competition has been most successful. Every volunteer was directed to a coach or high school faculty member to prepare for the 2011-12 school year. We deeply appreciate the help from our legal community to assist Ventura County high schools in this important endeavor.

In late August of 2011, all area high schools will again be informed that the Ventura County Bar Association will assist if a Mock Trial coach is needed for their team. At present, we have placed over 12 new attorney coaches with existing teams; but a serious need still continues for volunteers in several Ventura County schools.

New Mock Trial teams are now beginning this year at Moorpark, Frontier and Ventura high schools; and we have also been requested to also help find coaches at Hueneme HS and in the Ojai Valley. We ask again for volunteers to devote their legal talents to assist these special students that want to participate in this annual Mock Trial competition. If you know an appropriate attorney, please approach them with our request to help these specific schools and interested students.

“Thank you” to everyone that responded to our call to volunteer as a Mock Trial coach. If interested or any questions, contact Joseph O'Neill at [email protected] or 805-889-1959.

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The law is perhaps more bound in traditions than any other profession with its origins in antiquity. Medicine and the sciences have changed from the ground up. The motives of politicians are doubtless ancient (maybe “primitive” is a better word), but the means have changed, with opinion polls, fundraising machines, and the complex layers of municipal, county, state, national and international jurisdictions. If there are any traditions associated with the reputedly oldest profession, I must plead a happy ignorance. But the law comes to us with a striking number of traditions intact, and showing no signs of age. The contract, the complaint, the brief, the trial, the judge, and the jury all trace their roots back to at least the early Middle Ages. Whether we celebrate or denigrate them, tradition are alive and well in the law.

One of those living traditions celebrating the law is the annual Red Mass, which returns to Ventura County on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m., at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. The fourth annual event will feature a full Roman Catholic Mass, a guest homilist on the intersection of law and the spiritual life, and a wine and cheese reception afterwards. Judges, attorneys, and other legal professionals of every faith persuasion and no faith persuasion alike generally attend the event. The beautiful collegiate church where the mass will be held is worth the

RED MASS CONTINUES A LEGAL TRADITION

trip even when nothing is happening there. The Mass will include a formal procession of the bishop, priests, deacons, altar servers and judges that recreates liturgical scenes from hundreds of years past, with a gravity that seeks, nonetheless, to be a celebration. Anyone with an interest in history will appreciate the experience.

Catholics like myself likely need little explanation of the nature of the Mass (the name comes from the closing words of dismissal in the early Latin rite, Ite, missa est). Many non-Catholics only encounter the Mass through weddings and funerals, where the liturgical procedures tend to be eclipsed by the other business at hand. The Red Mass offers the chance to take in the service without having to reserve primary attention to social duties.

For Catholics and non-Catholics alike, the Red Mass is a little-known observance, the origins of which provide a story worth telling, and I hope, worth reading.

Historical records mention the first Red Mass in 1245 in Paris. The name refers to the color of the celebrant’s vestments; red was the traditional color of the academic robes worn by doctors of law, and also of the judicial robes of high court justices. In Catholic tradition, red is the color signifying

the presence of the Holy Spirit, whose guidance is invoked for the benefit of legal professionals. The Red Mass was celebrated in early October, the opening of the court session in Western European countries, and still the beginning of the U.S. Supreme Court session. The practice of celebrating a special Mass for the law soon spread to England and throughout Europe, and has continued to the present.

The first documented Red Mass in the United States occurred in 1877 in Detroit. Modern Los Angeles' first Red Mass took place in 1982, organized by the St. Thomas More Society of Los Angeles. In England and the United States, the event is frequently associated with More, who, as England’s chancellor under Henry VIII, famously went to the block for refusing to recognize the king’s supremacy over the church.

Every Catholic Mass features a homily based on the readings for the day. The homilist at a Red Mass often chooses a social-justice theme. Work for a more just society has a long tradition in the Catholic church, which founded the Western world’s first hospitals, orphanages, universities, secondary schools and what we would now call “homeless shelters.” Thomas More is widely recognized as a martyr for freedom of conscience, so his association with the Red Mass strengthens this connection. Last year’s Red Mass in Ventura County featured Father Greg Boyle, the founder and director of Homeboy Industries, a private nonprofit corporation in East Los Angeles that offers job training, substance-abuse assistance, tattoo removal, education and counseling to youth involved in gangs. Father Boyle, a Jesuit priest, spoke about the need to reach out even to those who are out of reach, even though our efforts might seem insignificant. No homilist has yet been announced for this year’s Mass, but the organizing committee has focused on finding a speaker who is recognized for his talents at the pulpit.

We moderns measure progress in terms of change, while being perhaps too timid in deciding whether the change is for better or for worse. This fosters a tendency to devalue traditions. Yet traditions persist, as evidence perhaps that there truly are fixed points in

Photos courtesy of the Ventura County Star.


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Everyone is invited to attend a Catholic Mass. It is not an exclusive event. But the protocol of the Mass can be confusing and even alienating. Here are a few common points of concern for non-Catholics.

Holy water is provided at the entrance to Catholic churches. Attendees may dip a finger into the font and make the sign of the cross, but it is not a faux pas to omit this ritual. During some parts of the Mass, the congregation is asked to kneel, but kneeling is not compulsory; if personal preference or physical condition dictate, you may be seated. After the consecration of the bread and wine (including elevation by the presider), the participants are invited to come forward to receive Communion. Catholics understand this to be the real body and blood of Jesus Christ and thus the proper subject of great reverence. The bread and wine are intended to be received only by practicing Catholics who are properly disposed to receive it. Anyone else may simply come forward to receive a blessing (signified by crossing the arms across one’s chest), or remain seated.

the universe, even though we might not all agree on their precise location. The Red Mass offers an opportunity to witness a few of those fixed points.

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“Speakers showed that you can overcome any obstacle to achieve what you want. Professions take time to get to. Do your best in school and you’ll succeed if you stay at it – you’ll have your chances at bat.”

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Did you know the Barristers meet up every third Thursday of the month? This month, join the Barristers (all attorneys are welcome) on September 15 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Victoria Pub. No RSVP is necessary. Maybe 2011 darts champion, Doug Goldwater will give you a pointer or two on the game.

Five years ago, the Barristers held a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for attorneys to compete for a trophy. Since then, the Barristers joined with the Ventura Family YMCA to host an annual “Take it to the Court” Basketball Tournament at Ventura College. This year, the tournament is on October 8, with games starting at 8 a.m. This tournament is now open to everyone and raises money for scholarships for area youth and families in need. To keep it fair, the Barristers still have their own bracket where legal professionals play against legal professionals. This year, law enforcement personnel will have their own bracket. Form your teams and register at http://www.ciymca.org/ventura/programs/BasketballTournament.html.

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Exec’s Dot…Dot…Dot…By Steve Henderson, Executive Director, M.A., CAE

Bill Winfield gave me a copy of his 1986-1987 Legal Services Directory, the bar’s pictorial of its membership. Included with the address, phone and fax numbers were the names of the spouses. We might add that in our 2012-2013 editions…A longtime Washington state lawyer has been disbarred after failing to defend a disciplinary hearing that resulted from his theft of a vacuum cleaner from a department store. Paul Ryals was admitted in 1988. He was convicted of second-degree theft in a Snohomish County bench trial earlier this year. The ABA Journal tried to reach him at an apparent former office, but was told he was not reachable there…Toronto? Natalie Panossian at [email protected]...

James Procter, Lisa Shyer, and Alan Wisotsky are pleased to announce the formation of Wisotsky, Procter & Shyer effective Sept. 1. The firm will continue serving self-insured public entities and the insurance defense industry. Other attorneys with the firm are Jeffrey Held, Brian Keighron, Dirk DeGenna, and Karen Harmeling and they may all be reached at 278.0920…It can be costly to arrest Richard Kreimer, or to throw him out of your business. Richard is homeless, but not exactly penniless. Over the years he has filed nearly 20 lawsuits alleging violation of his First Amendment or civil rights, bringing “a good bit of media coverage and hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements.” Kreimer may be most famous for his successful suit against the library in Morristown, N.J., for barring him from the premises, which garnered him an $80,000 settlement recently. He had claimed he was unlawfully ousted for his hygiene and odd behavior. In another suit against Morristown claiming police harassment, he won a $150,000 settlement…Christina Stokholm, current president of the

Barristers, has been appointed to the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission of the State Bar of California…

Roger Myers, for the 19th year, organized the legal services portion of Stand Down July 29, 30, and 31. Nancy Aronson held court as pro tem on Friday with 119 cases on calendar and took no break from 1:00-4:30 p.m. Lots of lawyers seen helping out including others for the 19th year – Jean Farley, Allison O’Neill, and Yasmin Morrison. Other regulars included Glenn Campbell, Tom Adams, Bill Raymond, Jody Prior, Janet Koehn, DDA Jennifer Lyons, and DPD Marie Meth…I attended a hearing on ways to address the financial crisis in the San Francisco Superior Courts. I should say a decimated Superior Court. Get this – 41 percent of the support staff is being let go in San Francisco – more than 200 people. Out of the existing fifteen departments for general civil cases, only three will remain. Both complex litigation departments will be closed. One of the two Law and Motion departments will be closed. An unfathomable backlog to civil litigation is expected and restoration of funds not expected…Thailand? Phil Panitz at [email protected] or 379.1667…

The Tri-Counties Local Government Attorneys Association has elected its new board of directors. The president will be Julie Doi (City of Oxnard), vice-president is Felicia Liberman (City of Simi Valley), and the secretary-treasurer is Andy Viets (City of Ventura). They typically meet the third Thursday of each month throughout the Ventura and Santa Barbara areas. More info? [email protected] you had a harrowing time taking the bar exam? It probably can’t compare to Elana Nightingale Dawson’s experience. The 2011 Northwestern University Law School graduate sat for the Illinois bar in Chicago on July 27, and less than two hours after she finished, she gave birth to her first child, a boy who weighed 6.6 pounds. This was Dawson’s first child, and she told the ABA Journal that it was not until Wednesday afternoon, while she was working through the bar exam’s multiple-choice section, that she realized something was going on. But, what, exactly, she was unsure of. Everyone told her the first labor takes a long time, and the only indication she had that things were moving quickly was that she didn’t think she

could talk during contractions. “I just put my head in my hands and breathed,” says Dawson. “Hopefully everyone else thought I was having a really tough time concentrating. Speaking of lawyers having babies, Mark Barney and Ellen Murphy Barney welcomed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches of Matilda Grace Barney July 19. And on Aug. 1, Beverley Grace Spillman, at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 inches, joined big siblings Ella, Atticus, and Levi, Mom Lisa Spillman and dad Paul.”…Judge David Long’s Retirement Party is Sept. 16, beginning at 5:30 p.m. atop the Tower Club. Seating is limited, so call Celene at 650.7599 to register or [email protected]. All proceeds benefit the vcba/vlsp, inc. which is the only way Judge Long would agree to do this. That’s the kind of man he is…

There are ten, count ‘em, ten CLE programs scheduled this month for your consideration. Check the September calendar flyer contained herein or visit www.vcba.org and click Education & Training. Easy!... A sentence in which tiny birds and the English language are both slaughtered in this year’s winner of the annual bad writing contest. San Jose State University professor Scott Rice says Sue Fondrie of Oshkosh, Wis., took top honors in the 2011 Bulwer-Lytten Fiction Contest for her sentence comparing forgotten memories to dead sparrows. Here it is: “Cheryl’s mind turned like the vanes of a wind-powered turbine, chopping her sparrow-like thoughts into bloody pieces that fell onto a growing pile of forgotten memories.”…The Jerome H. Berenson Inn of Court, Ventura County Chapter #228, still has a couple openings if you are interested. The first meeting is September 8 and runs the second Thursday of each month through May ’12. Call me for an application and enroll for the last available spaces…

Steve Henderson has been the executive director and chief executive officer of the bar association and its affiliated organizations since November 1990. Henderson was an usher in the Kim Kardashion wedding August 20. His birthday lands on the 10th this year and donations of Red Stripe and Corona Light gladly accepted. Better yet, a $50 contribution to the vcba/vlsp, inc. Henderson may be reached at [email protected], FB, Twitter at stevehendo1, LinkedIn, or preferably 650.7599.

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red mass continues a legal tradition - vcba · 08-09-2011 · laura l. bartels jerry beckerman and...

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